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We are now officially in offseason mode, and this post will look at the Angels roster in detail as it stands at the outset of the tepid stove season. But it’s important to note it isn’t exactly clear just who will be making the major decisions to shape said roster.
The Angels are without a general manager at the moment, after Billy Eppler was fired on Sept. 27. They have a growing list of candidates to fill the position, up to 14 interviewees at the moment per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
One of the Angels’ two senior advisors of baseball operations, Tony La Russa, who at least nominally was going to help during the GM selection process, is now managing the White Sox. The clubs’ two assistant general managers — Jonathan Strangio and Steve Martone — are leaving the Angels after their contracts expired on Saturday, again per Fletcher.
In other words, there’s a lot to be determined before the Angels can figure out what to do with their roster. But here is a look at the beginning of the offseason at where the 40-man roster stands, currently consisting of 36 players.
This does not include shortstop Andrelton Simmons and pitcher Julio Teheran, who became free agents on Oct. 28, the day after the World Series. The Angels did not extend the one-year, $18.9 million qualifying offer to the defensive whiz Simmons, which means they will not receive draft pick compensation should he sign with another team.
Under contract (4)
| Player | Pos | Service time | 2020 salary* | 2021 salary | Signed through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Service time | 2020 salary* | 2021 salary | Signed through |
| Albert Pujols | 1B/DH | 20.000 | $29,000,000 | $30,000,000 | 2021 |
| Justin Upton | OF | 13.060 | $21,000,000 | $23,000,000 | 2022 |
| Anthony Rendon | 3B | 7.130 | $25,500,000 | $27,500,000 | 2026 |
| Mike Trout | CF | 9.070 | $36,000,000 | $35,450,000 | 2030 |
The Angels only have four players under contract at the moment, but those four will cost just shy of $116 million combined, with a competitive balance tax hit of $115.75 million.
Next season is the final year of Albert Pujols’ 10-year, $240 million contract.
Salary arbitration-eligible (11)
| Player | Pos | Service time | 2020 salary | 2021 projections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Service time | 2020 salary | 2021 projections |
| Andrew Heaney | SP | 5.150 | $4,300,000 | $6,233,333 |
| Hansel Robles | RHP | 5.119 | $3,850,000 | $3,950,000 |
| Matt Andriese | RHP | 5.071 | $1,395,000 | $2,166,667 |
| Dylan Bundy | SP | 5.026 | $5,000,000 | $7,500,000 |
| Max Stassi | C | 4.049 | $800,000 | $1,900,000 |
| Noé Ramirez | RHP | 3.139 | $900,000 | $1,100,000 |
| Keynan Middleton | RHP | 3.089 | $800,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Felix Peña | RHP | 3.079 | $587,500 | $966,667 |
| Mike Mayers | RHP | 3.020 | $573,000 | $1,033,333 |
| Shohei Ohtani | DH/P | 3.000 | $700,000 | $2,400,000 |
| Justin Anderson | RHP | 2.161 | $577,000 | $700,000 |
There are a whopping 11 Angels players eligible for salary arbitration this winter, headlined by Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney, the two best pitchers on a thin staff, both in their final year before free agency.
The list could have been 12 deep, but pitcher Cam Bedrosian cleared waivers last week and was sent outright to Triple-A, and he instead elected free agency. The right-hander was projected to earn $2.9 million in 2021, using the average of Matt Swartz’s three projection models at MLB Trade Rumors.
Should all 11 arbitration-eligible Angels remain, and end up with those projected contracts, that puts the payroll at roughly $145 million for 15 players. The rest will be filled by players with fewer than three years of major league service time.
Team control (21)
| Player | Pos | Service time | Options (used) | 2020 salary* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Service time | Options (used) | 2020 salary* |
| David Fletcher | IF | 2.111 | 3 (none) | $593,500 |
| Ty Buttrey | RHP | 2.046 | 2 (2018) | $578,500 |
| Franklin Barreto | IF | 2.031 | 0 (2017-19) | $568,500 |
| Hoby Milner | LHP | 2.015 | 2 (2018) | $600,000 |
| Griffin Canning | SP | 1.153 | 3 (none) | $570,500 |
| Luis Rengifo | IF | 1.147 | 2 (2019) | $570,000 |
| Jaime Barria | SP | 1.123 | 0 (2018-20) | unknown |
| Dillon Peters | LHP | 1.089 | 0 (2018-20) | $569,000 |
| Taylor Ward | OF/1B | 1.065 | 2 (2019) | $566,500 |
| Anthony Bemboom | C | 1.058 | 1 (2019-20) | unknown |
| Luke Bard | RHP | 1.028 | 1 (2019-20) | unknown |
| Jared Walsh | 1B | 1.010 | 1 (2019-20) | $565,000 |
| Patrick Sandoval | SP | 0.167 | 2 (2020) | $565,750 |
| José Suarez | LHP | 0.160 | 1 (2019-20) | $567,500 |
| Matt Thaiss | 1B/3B | 0.153 | 2 (2020) | $567,000 |
| Jo Adell | OF | 0.153 | 3 (none) | $563,500 |
| José Quijada | LHP | 0.143 | 1 (2019-20) | unknown |
| Gerardo Reyes | RHP | 0.074 | 1 (2019-20) | unknown |
| Kyle Keller | RHP | 0.060 | 1 (2019-20) | unknown |
| Jahmai Jones | 2B | 0.014 | 2 (2020) | $536,500 |
| Hector Yan | LHP | 0.000 | 2 (2020) | $563,500 |
Taylor Ward was optioned for a total of only 16 days in 2020, just shy of the requisite 20 days required to exhaust an option year.
Not included on this list are catcher Jose Briceño and infielder Elliot Soto, who both cleared waivers and were sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. They are no longer on the 40-man roster.
The major league minimum salary for 2020 was $563,500. Per the collective bargaining agreement, the 2021 minimum salary will depend on how this October’s Consumer Price Index compared to October 2019. Should the September CPI hold, we’ll be looking at a minimum salary in MLB next year just north of $570,000.
Dates to watch in the coming months include Nov. 20 (adding prospects to the 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 Draft), Dec. 2 (the non-tender deadline), and Jan. 15 (the date when players and teams exchange final salary arbitration figures).
But for the Angels, the most important date is hopefully some time soon, when they have a new general manager in place to build a better roster than currently exists.